Desert Messenger

SPECIAL SECTION 46 www.DesertMessenger.com November 15, 2023 www.DesertMessenger.com "Quartzsite's FREE Community Paper" 541-218-2560 WED. MAY 2, 2012 Vol. 8 Issue #151 Vol. 8 Issue #151 "Quartzsite's FREE Community Paper" 541-218-2560 FREE Community Paper" 541-218-2560 FREE WHAT'S INSIDE 2 Editorial 4 Letters to Editor 8 Around Town 13 Voices from the Past 14 Coach Louise 15 Restaurants 16 Church Directory 19 Perspectives 20 Puzzle Page 21 Astrology 22 Paul Winer's Comic 23 Classifi eds Quartzsite, Arizona – Thursday, April 19th a local high school student took a video of Scholars' Academy Principle Steve McClenning in a steamy embrace with his Secretary Billie Madewell. The pair's exchange took place on campus during school hours. The video was posted on YouTube.com, taken down, put back up, posted on vimeo.com and then sent out to the media by students and friends. The Scholars' Academy school board met Wednesday night accepting the resignation of Mr. McClenning and SEE SCHOLARS' PAGE 10 Quartzsite, AZ - Quartzsite Town Park was the location of Operation Stay Safe, a mock drunk driving crash scene held Thursday, April 26, 2012. The graphic demonstration of the dan- gers of drinking and driving involved six students in two crashed vehicles. Yellow smoke signaled the begin- ning of the incident, with a simulated phone call to 911. Arizona Department of Public Service (DPS) Offi cer Tre Jackson narrated the event for stu- dents of Scholars' Academy and spec- tators. Jackson explained the events taking place as it would happen in real time. He said it could take up to an hour for emergency services to arrive, depending upon location. Arriving fi rst on the scene was Quartz- site Police Department (QPD) along with DPS who assessed the scene and called for Quartzsite Fire Department (QFD) and ambulance. One driver had stumbled out of the vehicle, kick- ing the beer cans under the car. He soon realized his passenger had been ejected and was non-responsive. An offi cer covered the "dead" girl with yellow plastic. As QFD arrived on the scene, the driver and friend were per- forming the sobriety fi eld test. After failing the test, the driver was "arrest- ed" for Driving Under the Infl uence. His friend was also "arrested" for un- Operation Stay Safe mock accident shows dangers of drinking and driving SEE CRASH ON PAGE 2 Jerry Lukkasson FOR MAYOR "Keeping Quartzsite Moving IN A POSITIVE DIRECTION, Improving the Quality of Life Photo by Shanana Rain Golden-Bear Scholars' Academy in turmoil after resignations der age drinking. The driver's mother answered the notifi caiton call from QPD about the "accident". Her realis- tic panic shocked many spectators, as she demanded to know the status of the other kids. Meanwhile, River Medical Ambu- lance arrived on the scene while fi re- fi ghters began rescuing "victims" from the two vehicles. Care Flight helicop- ter arrived in a safe area away from the crash area. Emergency personnel strapped one critically injured "pas- senger" to the gurney and was fl own from the scene. One student with "heart problems" was transported by River Medical. Another "dead" student was extricated from the vehicle, after the "injured" were taken away. Two DPS offi cers acted out the "knock on the door" scene, notifying a mother that her daughter had been killed in a drunk driving accident, even though she had not been drinking. The of- fi cers then notifi ed a grandmother of the death of her favorite grandchild. Jackson told the audience that this type of accident happens every day. As the "dead" students were placed in body bags, Offi cer Jim Shultz took photos of the accident scene. Jack- son asked the youth, "Are these the prom pictures you guys imagined?" May 2, 2012

• Cover